Belt retractors including force limiters which, once a specific tensile force in the safety belt is exceeded, allow a rotation of the belt spool in spite of the belt spool being blocked, are known from the prior art. The forces exerted on a vehicle occupant by the safety belt are reduced in this way.
DE 103 43 534 A1 discloses a belt retractor in which, in addition to a first force limitation by means of a torsion bar, a second force limitation takes place at the same time by a material cutting process which in particular by means of the cutting width and depth parameters allows, in sections, a progressive, degressive or constant evolution of the level of force. The level of force and the evolution thereof is however the same for all occupants.
The invention provides a belt retractor which allows the force level to be adjusted more flexibly.